Air Purifying Billboards

Trees play an essential role for the planet, they purify the air we breathe. Needless to say that trees don’t have lungs like humans, they “breathe” through a process known as photosynthesis. Now what if we tell you that a new tree species series of billboards appeared in and around Los Angeles and San Francisco that does exactly that?

To be fair, the Air-Cleaning Eco-Board by Toyota does not “breathe” like a tree does. Its titanium dioxide coating layer acts like an air purifier, similar to the catalytic converter in a car. Using light, humidity and wind, the coating reacts with the nitrogen dioxide in the air. This reaction then clears the nitrogen, leaving the oxygen behind.

According to the company press release, 37billboards or “24,960 square feet of pollution scrubbing surfaces” were installed for a period of eight weeks to reverse the equivalent of 5.285 vehicles worth of nitrogen dioxide emissions per month. If the ad campaign will hold its end of the bargain up is hard to say. In any case, the blue eco-boards are definitely turning California a bit greener.